Eight Years Later:

Speak Out Against the War in Afghanistan

GRITtv: David Cole: Torture and Rationalizing the Unthinkable

David Cole, editor of "Torture Memos: Rationalizing the Unthinkable", on what may be one of the darkest moments in the last half century of US history, possibly longer: the authorization of torture by high level officials in the Bush administration. Cole's new book lays out the case against the architects of US torture policy. But will they be prosecuted?

Remorse for wartime massacre

Remorse for wartime massacre is bringing US, Vietnam closer

Lieutenant William Calley, the only US military officer prosecuted in the infamous massacre at My Lai in Vietnam in 1968, is coming back.

Snip

He will follow in the tracks of Kenneth Schiel, another US veteran who had a hand in the slaughter of 504 peaceful villagers and who returned last year for the massacre’s 40th anniversary.

Throughout the three hours he spent with the surviving villagers, Schiel did nothing but cry. Any questions or attempts at explanation would have been superfluous and pointless.

A survivor’s big hug out of the blue only served to worsen the American’s torment...>>>>>

Vietnam, US make headway at fourth AO meeting

The fourth annual meeting of the Vietnam-US joint advisory committee (JAC) on Agent Orange/dioxin closed Thursday with both sides saying they’d forged closer ties on the issue.

Snip

The scientists will examine health issues related to Agent Orange/dioxin and aid the disabled in identified hotspots.

Since 2006, the US Congress has allocated about $6 million to address the lasting effects of Agent Orange, an amount many experts and those in the international community criticize as being too little compared to what’s actually needed.

Snip

At least 1 million to 4 million of Vietnam’s citizens are believed to have suffered health consequences after being exposed to dioxin but according to Dr. Son, the exact figure is still undetermined....>>>>>>

SNL: "You Lie!"! How Did It Develope?

Saturday Night Live

The "Noble Cause" of War

That "Noble Cause", which one "GoldStar Mom" asked to be answered very publicly and never was, comes when those who serve do everything in their power, and know those around them will do same, to save and protect those they are serving with, especially as they serve the Country and are sent into others Countries, wrong policies or right!

When the battles start that's what's on their minds, even before saving themselves!

With "Honor":

President Obama: Our Nations Highest Honor to Army Sgt. 1st Class Jared Monti



A Medal Of Honor For Sgt. Monti, Who Went To Save His Man

The nation pays its highest military tribute to a fallen hero today when President Barack Obama awards a posthumous Medal of Honor to Army Sgt. 1st Class Jared Monti of Raynham, Mass.

As NPR's Tom Bowman reported on Morning Edition, the 30-year-old Monti made a valiant effort to save one of his men during a ferocious firefight on a mountaintop in Afghanistan three years ago. Staff Sgt. Chris Cunningham tells Tom that when Monti heard during the battle that one of his men was missing, the 1st Sgt. said "he's my guy, I'm going to get him":

At the Pentagon today, Defense Secretary Robert Gates was asked if he is concerned by the fact that there has not yet been a Medal of Honor awarded to any living veteran of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Gates said he is bothered by that -- and that it was one of former president George W. Bush's "real regrets" that he did not have such an opportunity. Then, Gates added that it's his understanding there are "some living potential recipients that have been put forward":

There is one more "Noble Cause" of war, those who recognize when the policies are not only flawed but extremely negative as to humanity, theirs and the countries people they occupy, and damaging for what we call our 'National Security' in the present and long term, the country they took an oath to serve and protect!

These soldiers become emotional "Conscientious Objectors" to the inhumanity of these Wars of Choice and the Occupations of others, they speak out in the attempts to get their brother and sister soldiers out of harms way and brought home. Saving them as well as the innocents in the countries of these man made conflicts and the failed policies of lies and wants of certain civilian, as well as military, leadership!

That's the "Noble Cause!"

Rest In Peace, All Our Brothers and Sisters, Who Have Served And Given Their Lives To The "Noble Cause" For Those They Serve With!

Sept. 18, 2009 is National POW/MIA Recognition Day

POW/MIA Day honors heroes

The flag of the National League of Families of American Prisoners of War and Missing in Southeast Asia will be flown over the White House, the U.S. Capitol, the departments of State, Defense, and Veterans Affairs, the Selective Service System Headquarters, the World War II Memorial, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the Korean War Veterans Memorial, and national cemeteries across our country.

This black and white banner, symbolizing America’s missing, is a stark and powerful reminder to people around the world that our nation will keep faith with those who have served and sacrificed, that we will not rest until we receive the fullest possible accounting of every American missing in service to our country.

Sept. 18, 2009 is National POW/MIA Recognition Day. I ask all citizens to join me in honoring former American prisoners of war and those whose fate is still undetermined. I also encourage you to remember with special sympathy and concern the courageous families who maintain their steadfast vigil and who persevere in their search for answers and for the peace that comes only with certainty...>>>>Read The Rest Here

Please join us for this solemn, poignant and important event. We must let every nation know that we will “never forget!”

A powerful resource for additional information regarding this important issue may be found at the Department of Defense Web site: Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personal

Photos of fallen Vietnam veterans sought

A new project is trying to put a face to each of the 58,195 names listed on the Vietnam Wall.

The organizers of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and Federal Express are issuing a nationwide "call for photos" to help document the stories of those lost in the war...>>>>>>

Sept 27th: Gold Star Mothers

Gold Star Mother's Day in United States

Gold Star Mother’s Day is observed in the United States on the last Sunday of September each year. It is a day to for people to recognize and honor those who have lost a son or daughter while serving the United States Armed Forces.

Gold Star Moms Website

In NY, The Play: Visions of War

A Three Day Event, Free and Open to the Public: The Warrior

Trailer of the Play

SVA Theatre, 333 West 23rd Street
The Warrior and Talk Back
Humanities and Sciences Department presents Jack Gilhooley's The Warrior, a play about a veteran of the Persian Gulf War and two tours in Iraq, and the damage her absence has done to her family, and to her mental health. After the performance there will be a Talk Back session which includes questions from the audience and answers. Preview for The Warrior.

Krakauer Explores Pat Tillman's Death And Cover-Up

I did a post the other day about Jon Krakauer and his new book: "Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman" with a video report from ABC's Good Morning America and from the ABC World News Tonight.

He's since been on at least two NPR shows one being All Things Considered which is about a seven minute discussion of the book and the Pat Tillman military service story that was propagandized by both the cheney/bush administration, the pentagon and the military!

Krakauer talks to NPR's Melissa Block about his investigation into Tillman's death by friendly fire — and the Army's subsequent effort to cover up the circumstances of that death.

A Spray Of Bullets

At least half the members of a platoon traveling through Afghanistan on April 22, 2004, had never been in a firefight before. But on this day, the enemy attacked. In response, the American soldiers sprayed thousands of rounds from their machine guns, M4s and grenade launchers..........Read Rest Here

The second show was the Diane Rehm show, with a much more indepth discussion and some call in's, on Sept. 16th, he was the second half hour.

Jon Krakauer: "Where Men Win Glory" (Doubleday)

Pat Tillman walked away from a multi-million dollar N-F-L contract to fight with U-S special forces. He was killed in Afghanistan two years later. How the Army tried to keep his family and the public from learning the truth about his death.

Guests
Jon Krakauer, author of "Into the Wild", "Into Thin Air", and "Under the Banner of Heaven," "Eiger Dreams," and editor of Modern Library Exploration series.

You can listen in with Your Real Player or with the Windows Media Player

Jon Krakauer's book: "Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman"

Oscar Buzz for New Ellsberg Documentary

From Daniel's son Michael:

"The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers," the new feature documentary about my father, premieres today in NYC. There is already Oscar buzz for the film!

The New York Times, New Yorker, New York Magazine, New York Post, Variety, and Entertainment Weekly have all given it wonderful reviews (see the above link).

If you're in NYC come see it in person. It also comes out in LA Sep 23rd.

In other exciting news, Daniel has officially launched his new Internet memoir, "The American Doomsday Machine." Check it out!

Thank you,

--Michael Ellsberg

From the Director

The Most Dangerous Man in America catapults us to 1971 where we find America in the grip of a familiar scenario: a dirty war based on lies. And Dr. Daniel Ellsberg, one of the nation’s leading war planners, has the documents to prove it. Armed with 7000 pages of Top Secret documents; he leaks the truth about the Vietnam War to The New York Times and risks life in prison to end the war he helped plan. It is a story that held the world in its grip, with daily headlines, the top story on the nightly news for weeks on end...........Read Rest Here

The Trailer



Democracy Now: Watch, Listen or Read
New Documentary Chronicles Story of Daniel Ellsberg, Whose Leak of the Pentagon Papers Helped End Vietnam War

Daniel Ellsberg once faced espionage charges and possibly life in prison after leaking what became known as the Pentagon Papers, a 7,000-page classified history outlining the true extent of US involvement in Vietnam. Daniel Ellsberg’s actions directly contributed to the end of Nixon presidency and the Vietnam War. His story is chronicled in the new documentary The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers. We speak to Ellsberg, his wife Patricia, and the film’s co-director, Judith Ehrlich. [includes rush transcript]

"Pulling it Together": Simple Arithmetic

The subject title comes from one of the just released Kaiser Family Foundation survey of employers titled Employer Health Benefits 2009 Annual Survey

This annual survey of employers provides a detailed look at trends in employer-sponsored health coverage, including premiums, employee contributions, cost-sharing provisions, and other relevant information. The survey continued to document the prevalence of high-deductible health plans associated with a savings option and included new questions on health risk assessments. The 2009 survey included 3,188 randomly selected public and private firms with three or more employees (2,054 of which responded to the full survey and 1,134 of which responded to an additional question about offering coverage). Researchers at the Kaiser Family Foundation, the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago, and Health Research & Educational Trust designed and analyzed the survey.

There's a whole host of links to the survey at the above link in mostly pdf format.

The Kaiser Family Foundation and the Health Research & Educational Trust have conducted this annual survey since 1999. The archives of the Employer Health Benefits Survey include these surveys and a small business supplement of the 1998 survey conducted by the Foundation.

The subject title comes from this report, Simple Arithmetic of the survey written by Drew Altman, PH. D., President and CEO of the Kaiser Family Foundation.

In it he starts out with this "Two numbers jumped off the pages."

The first number was the average cost of a family health insurance policy in 2009: $13,375. To put that number in context, if you are an employer, you can hire an employee at the minimum wage for about $15,000 per year. If you are a consumer, you can rent an average two-bedroom apartment nationwide for $11,136 per year (though it is quite a bit more here in Menlo Park, California where our Foundation is based). You can also buy a new Chevy Aveo for $12,000, and it gets 35 miles per gallon on the highway.

The other result that jumped off the page was the stark contrast between increases in health insurance premiums and overall inflation in the general economy. Premiums went up 5% and prices overall fell 0.7% (mainly driven by a big drop-off in energy prices).

He calls the rise in premiums moderate but adds this "Still, over the last ten years premiums have increased by 131%, while wages have grown 38% and inflation has grown 28%.", he then takes it to the "simple math".

They have another page on what reform would mean titled Matching Health Benefit Packages to Health Needs: Key Issues To Consider In Health Reform

Three reports and a video collectively examine the range of health care needs and costs that people face today against the backdrop of the scope of health coverage that may be available to them under health reform.

Children and Health Care Reform: Assuring Coverage That Meets Their Health Care Needs and Individuals With Special Needs and Health Reform: Adequacy of Health Insurance Coverage examine the needs of children and adults, respectively, focusing on those with low-to-moderate incomes and multiple health challenges. They find that even under a benefit package more generous than most offered in the private insurance market, individuals and families can face significant gaps in coverage and large out-of-pocket costs, especially if they have serious health conditions.

Oral Histories: Report from a Dental Fair for Uninsured Adults, and a companion video of the same title, profile patients attending a dental fair in rural Virginia to highlight the impact on adults of lack of coverage for oral health services.

I'm not going to pretend I'm some sort of analyst on the subject, but there is a lot of common sense that can be brought into this long running debate as one AFL/CIO speaker said yesterday at their convention shortly after President Obama spoke: "We've been fighting for reform for so long that if health reform was a person, it would be eligible for Medicare!"

But looking at some of the above survey one sees that it may be off somewhat, not taking into consideration, probably because of the rapidity of the collapse of the economy, or maybe doing so but using conservative figures in guessing what may be the reality. Like the wage rise given, wages have been falling backwards, I'm seeing this as time goes on just in my industry construction, starting wages have dropped and the top wages were already stagnant for the past decade plus. This has been the trend in most industries and businesses.

There's also the costs of lobbying and financing opposition by those opposed to any reform or an extremely milked down reform package as pointed out by this front page Daily Kos diary yesterday, but you could just search out the figures in reports, even though not highly reported, to follow the numbers, and I think these are even conservatively low, as there's one whole cable, supposedly, news station that reports almost 24/7 just what the opposition to reform want reported, bringing in absolutely no new ideas nor reform packages. This was also seen in the past weekends so called "teaparty" in Washington DC, the interviews and posters had extremely little to nothing to do with Health Care Reform debate, though we already know some don't have a clue as to what 'debate' even means, they just yell out "Lier" in the peoples house even! Where will the daily estimated costs,$700 thousand a day, to kill or marginalize the health care reform, come from, the same place the $700k is coming from, the premiums those with insurance are paying and if they can push regulation back or marginalize that, as it has been over the past decade, the rates will rise even faster then the Kaiser Family Foundation conservatively is measuring, much faster!! Gotta keep them executive compensation and company perks, all write offs, in the syle they've become accustomed to!! Premiums have already started rising, even as employee's are getting laid off.

After This Survey

You'll probably be seeing a number of reports, maybe, like this one:

Health premiums rose nearly 5 times faster than income

Texan families paid 91.6 percent more for insurance this decade as earnings rose 19.7 percent.

Maybe!!

And any of these figures are based on previous wage income!

In closing, Rachel had another good discussion last night that I'll include, it touches a number of issues:

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Artists and Writers Against Torture

World Can't Wait: Call for Entries

In the months following 9/11, the government of the United States began unjust and immoral occupations of Afghanistan and Iraq leading to the deaths of countless civilians. It began warrantless wiretapping and suspended habeas corpus. And it began openly torturing people and justifying it with questionable legalese.

In the hyper-sensitive environment that surrounded 9/11 and the military action that followed it, we lost sight of the most important commodity to which we can lay claim:

the Truth.

And the Truth is: torture is a crime.

Snip

Submission Deadline

The deadline for submissions of artwork or written work is November 1, 2009. If your piece/s is/are accepted for inclusion in Artists and Writers Against Torture, you will be notified by email by the end of November 2009........Rest Found Here

Now at the end of the page they give this: Remember to attach all submission files to your email! We look forward to seeing your submissions. Good luck! with the type files and other information you can send them in boxes provided.

Sept. 18, 2009 is National POW/MIA Recognition Day

POW/MIA Day honors heroes

The flag of the National League of Families of American Prisoners of War and Missing in Southeast Asia will be flown over the White House, the U.S. Capitol, the departments of State, Defense, and Veterans Affairs, the Selective Service System Headquarters, the World War II Memorial, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the Korean War Veterans Memorial, and national cemeteries across our country.

This black and white banner, symbolizing America’s missing, is a stark and powerful reminder to people around the world that our nation will keep faith with those who have served and sacrificed, that we will not rest until we receive the fullest possible accounting of every American missing in service to our country.

Sept. 18, 2009 is National POW/MIA Recognition Day. I ask all citizens to join me in honoring former American prisoners of war and those whose fate is still undetermined. I also encourage you to remember with special sympathy and concern the courageous families who maintain their steadfast vigil and who persevere in their search for answers and for the peace that comes only with certainty................Read The Rest Here

Please join us for this solemn, poignant and important event. We must let every nation know that we will “never forget!”

A powerful resource for additional information regarding this important issue may be found at the Department of Defense Web site: Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personal

DAV Virtual March on Washington

The March Has Begun



Welcome to the Virtual March on Washington for Veterans

“Million Claims March.”

The YouTube player here is showing the videos in a certain order, but feel free to jump around by clicking on the video if you want to pick and choose. But every message here contains important information. Also, there are links in several of the video descriptions that you might find informative.

Thank you for marching with us and for standing up for veterans!

Before you proceed, please register for the march. It is free and only asks for your name, e-mail address and ZIP code.

Visit the Virtual March Site for much more information.

This Country needs to finally stand up for those who serve, by helping to bring the Veterans Administration into the 21st Century in the Technology needed, we've been playing catchup for far to long causing higher costs and extreme delays. This isn't only in the Veterans Administration but across the spectrum of the Government Agencies.

The blame doesn't just rest in any Executive Administration nor Congress, though there are some who voice support for us Veterans but Obstruct when the needs are placed into legislation. The blame lies with the Country, the majority that don't serve and don't want to sacrifice anything, that causes more costs and hardships over the years from our Wars of Choice, it's long past time to remedy the countries self created problems.

Lets make sure we keep our representatives to their words "In Our Names", but they are only hired to represent, It's Up To The Country To Really Support!

We have a President and Congress, that Congress has been playing catchup the last couple of years correcting what wasn't done nor even thought about as to the military and veterans, Now that are not only trying to fix what wasn't done in the leadup to and continued occupations of two countries over these past eight years but trying to push the Veterans Agency into the twenty first century and bring not only the care and need for quicker resolution to benefits owed but by doing so bringing the cost of operating the agency down.

Press Release Sept. 14 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/

The following resolution was adopted by the Democratic National Committee on Friday, September 11th, 2009 in Austin, Texas.

Resolution Commending Democrats for Delivering a New Direction for America's Servicemembers, Veterans and Military Families

Submitted by: Christine Pelosi, California; Don Fowler, At-Large/South Carolina; Alice Germond, DNC Secretary/West Virginia; Steven K. Alari, California; Belkis Leong-Hong, At-Large/Maryland; Barbara Easterling, At-Large/Virginia; Ben Jeffers, Louisiana; and James Zogby, At-Large, District of Columbia

WHEREAS, Democrats promised a new direction for America's servicemembers, veterans and military families, who have demonstrated great patriotism and sacrifice in their commitment to keeping us safe and free; and,

WHEREAS, in the first 200 days of the 111th Congress and the Obama administration, Democrats have kept this promise, beginning with the FY 2009 Supplemental Appropriations bill that provides our troops with planning, equipment, and leadership to wind down the Iraq war, changes strategy in Afghanistan; and, makes retroactive payments to over 185,000 service members whose enlistments were involuntarily extended since the 9/11 terrorist attacks; and,

WHEREAS, Democrats directed specific aid to servicemembers, veterans and military families in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act: the stimulus package provided veterans direct and indirect aid, adding up to $15.8 billion. Disabled veterans received direct benefits in the form of one-time payments of $250 and all businesses can now claim a tax credit for 40 percent of the first $6,000 of wages paid to unemployed veterans. In addition, the stimulus included renovation to national cemeteries and veterans medical facilities, grants to build new veterans care

facilities and money to improve VA benefits administration; and,

WHEREAS, Democrats have led the charge to successfully pass and implement the Post-9/11 GI Bill, and recently expanded the Post-9/11 GI bill benefits to cover the full cost of a college education for all children of fallen U.S. servicemembers; and,

WHEREAS, Democrats have passed, and President Obama has signed legislation that provides mental health screenings and more veterans healthcare resources than at any other time in the 77-year history of the Veterans Administration; and,

WHEREAS, House Democrats have passed legislation to strengthen national security by bolstering State Department resources to prevent conflict and failed states around the world; authorizing a 3.4% pay raise for our troops; expanding support for military families such as health care and housing; investing 15% more than 2009 for medical care, benefits claims processors, and facility improvements; and permitting veterans medically retired from active service to receive both military retirement and Veterans Disability Compensation.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the DNC commends the successful leadership by President Barack Obama and the Democratic Congress to provide a new direction for servicemembers, veterans and military families, and to deliver bipartisan results that make a real difference in their lives, and pledges that Democrats will never waver in our support for our servicemembers, veterans and military families.

SOURCE Democratic National Committee

Pat Tillman "Where Men Win Glory"

This was just reported on ABC World News and apparently ABC Good Morning America also had a report this morning, video from that below.

EXCERPT: Jon Krakauer's 'Where Men Win Glory'
Krakauer Investigates the Life and Death of American Football Hero Pat Tillman

Patrick Tillman, former NFL player, made national headlines when he gave up his lucrative sports career to join the U.S. Army Rangers.

Tillman, one of the most potent symbols of post-9/11 patriotism in America, was gunned down by friendly fire in 2004.

Revelations abound in Krakauer's new book, coming from interviews with friends and relatives, and Tillman's personal journals.

Read an excerpt of the book below:

Excerpt From the Prologue

Ever since Homo sapiens first coalesced into tribes, war has been part of the human condition. Inevitably, warring societies portray their campaigns as virtuous struggles, and present their fallen warriors as heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice for a noble cause. But death by so- called friendly fire, which is an inescapable aspect of armed conflict in the modern era, doesn't conform to this mythic narrative. It strips away war's heroic veneer to reveal what lies beneath. It's an unsettling reminder that barbarism, senseless violence, and random death are commonplace even in the most "just" and "honorable" of wars. Consequently, and unsurprisingly, when soldiers accidentally kill one of their own, there is tremendous reluctance to confront the truth within the ranks of the military. There is an overwhelming inclination to keep the unsavory particulars hidden from public view, to pretend the calamity never occurred. Thus it has always been, and probably always will be. As Aeschylus, the exalted Greek tragedian, noted in the fifth century b.c., "In war, truth is the first casualty."

Jon Krakauer's book: "Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman"

Although it wasn't Tillman's intention, when he left the Cardinals to join the Army he was transformed overnight into an icon of post-9/11 patriotism. Seizing the opportunity to capitalize on his celebrity, the Bush administration endeavored to use his name and image to promote what it had christened the Global War on Terror. Tillman abhorred this role. As soon as he decided to enlist, he stopped talking to the press altogether, although his silence did nothing to squelch America's fascination with the football star who traded the bright lights and riches of the NFL for boot camp and a bad haircut. Following his death on the battlefield, the public's interest in Tillman shot through the roof. The posthumous media frenzy shed little light on who he really was, however. The intricate mosaic of personal history that defined his existence was obscured by the blizzard of hype.

In the interview video above, from ABC's "Good Morning America" we find out he was also in Iraq, but not only that he was involved in the operation to rescue Jessica Lynch. Even this author didn't know about that untill he was going through the papers and reports preparing the book. Tillman apparently knew it was a bogus operation and that he might be used in similar manner if something happened, He Was Right!!

He also could have gotten out of the Army and never have gone to Afghanistan, but choose to stay and finish his commitment!!

Read the Rest Here

Revisiting Vietnam: Vietnam's MIA's

US OFFICIALS STILL ARE SEARCHING for the remains of roughly 1,500 American soldiers who never came home from the Vietnam war. The government of Vietnam says it still can't find 300,000 of its own soldiers. With 25 years gone by, the Vietnamese are turning to unconventional methods to trace the missing in action.

Every Sunday night, people across Vietnam tune their televisions to their country's version of Unsolved Mysteries. This program searches for the remains of North Vietnamese soldiers who disappeared while fighting against the South Vietnamese and the United States..........Rest Here

Listen to report, brings up real player

The number of walls the size of the Vietnam Memorial it would take to list all Vietnamese who died in the war: 69 Source

See for yourself:

COMPARE protesters FOR / AGAINST corporate health insurance

I saw first hand how thousands of protesters opposing big business were violated.

It amazes me that these teabaggers are allowed to recite lies and corporate rhetoric from websites, and even interrupt politicians!

The protesters I saw trying to be heard with facts and statistics that predicted our financial crisis of late WERE SHOT IN THE FACE.

Doesn't anyone realize we're talking about a business that takes a 20% cut (cost and profit) of $2,400,000,000,000? And, they deliver care 37th in quality in return?

You'd have to be naive to think insurance wouldn't do everything imaginable to protect this racket.

Obama should have run health reform through while AIG was begging for their $170 billion dollar handout. Instead they are spending well over a million a day spreading lies and propaganda and employing disgruntled Republican party workers pretending to be non-affiliated.

Forgive the pun, THIS IS SICK!!!

TeaBags in DC and Afghanistan: McClatchy's Nancy Youssef

Yesterday, 9.12.09, in Washington, we had this: Tea Party Protesters March on Washington extending their purely political use of the tragedy of 9/11. I'll guess not one at the podium or with the megaphones, nor any in the crowd, even mentioned this: 5 U.S. troops among 50 killed in Afghan violence Sat Sep 12, nor much was said about all the soldiers who've died, or are physically and mentally injured from the occupations of Afghanistan and Iraq. I'll guess also nothing was mentioned about the monetary, in billions and billions, cost of these still operational theaters of occupation!

A friend at facebook also asked the same I've {many have} wondered these past eight years:

is wondering where all those folks who are now expressing outrage about profligate government spending were during the eight years of the Bush Administration?

During the Bush years, the US national debt went from 5.7 trillion to 10.6 trillion. :(

I answered with this:

They were Yelling and Screaming that those who 'Protest' against their 'dear leaders' policies, policies of death and destruction done In Our Names, were not only UnPatriotic but UnAmerican as well as Enemy Sympathizers and every other label of negativity they could muster up!!! They haven't changed the rhetoric, words nor yelling, they've have now embraced {their own definitions} being UnPatriotic, UnAmerican and become the Enemies of the Nation and our Constitution!!
Starting even before their 'dear leaders, cheney/bush' left town!!

Afghanistan with McClatchy DC Pentagon correspondent Nancy Youssef.

September 11, 2009

The JOURNAL takes a hard look at the state of affairs in Afghanistan with McClatchy DC Pentagon correspondent Nancy Youssef.

BILL MOYERS: But first, we turn to another big decision bearing down on the President, what to do in Afghanistan. A conflict Americans can no longer put out of mind or out of sight.

Once again, we have been reminded that war is not a video game. The photo of an American marine dying in Afghanistan created a controversy that threw the press into conflict with the Pentagon and the young marine's family - and it threw those of us in the press into conflict with ourselves.

Snip

As THE ECONOMIST nagazine noted last month, resentment against the Karzai government, NATO forces and westerners in general is growing. "...it seems clear," the magazine reported, "that the international effort to bring stability to Afghanistan... is failing."

And yet, consider this open letter to President Obama from some of the very same armchair warriors whose claim of expertise supported President Bush's decision to invade Iraq. They were wrong then - wrong time and again - but their tragic errors haven't stopped them from demanding that President Obama now escalate the war in Afghanistan.

Once again, their enthusiasm for war is as great as their distance from the actual battlefield.

Their letter lands as European leaders are calling for an international conference to assess the deteriorating situation and the commander of our forces in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, delivers a review to the White House. It's a report many believe sets the stage for an even greater expansion of the war.

But recently, the "McClatchy" news service reported that some top pentagon officials fear that without a clear definition of our mission there, further escalation will be in vain.

As a reality check, with me now is one of the reporters on that story, recently returned from Afghanistan.

Nancy Youssef is the Chief Pentagon Correspondent for "McClatchy" news. She covered the war in Iraq for four years, including two as Baghdad Bureau Chief.

Nancy Youssef, welcome to the JOURNAL.............Rest of Transcript Here

I posted this Quagmires: 8yrs. After 9/11 a few days ago with more reports about Afghanistan and Iraq, a discussion aired on the PBS News Hour and another report/discussion from MSNBC.